Abortion is a serious concern among the human population. For years it has been debated and fought over. Opinions of Abortion vary greatly because of religion, morals, politics, and a number of other reasons. Many people also argue over the issue if a fetus is a human or if it is simply a fetus. Many factors must be accounted for when the topic of abortion is brought up. El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Poland are a few examples of the countries that still hold to the very restrictive law prohibiting abortion all together. Abortion is a right that every woman in the world is entitled to. No one person or group of persons should have any say in what another woman decides to do with her body. If there is a complication in the woman’s pregnancy it is no one else’s duty to determine if it is a viable cause or not. Abortion is a personal right granted to every woman and is the right to decide if you are a fit to bring a new human life to the world, it should not be determined by others religious beliefs, personal morals, politics, or ethical choices.
Conception is the term used when the sperm of a male meets with the egg of a female. When the sperm and the egg meet it is called a zygote. A zygote is the first initial cell that is made when they are joined. After this process the zygote multiplies into many cells. These many cells travel through a woman’s fallopian tube and then implant itself into the uterine wall after it has entered the uterus. One to two weeks after it has fertilized the pregnancy is considered established. When the pregnancy is considered established the zygote is then referred to as an embryo. When the umbilical cord and placenta grow into play the embryo can then begin to gain nourishment from the mother through her blood. When this process begins the embryo quickly begins to grow. At just 8 weeks from conception, brain waves can be detected and the embryo can now be considered a fetus. At a mere 14 weeks the first movement can be felt. And just six weeks after that, the fetus can potentially live outside of the womb on its own with artificial help. At 38-40 weeks regular birth usually takes place. The argument is, at what point is abortion considered killing a human being? If during the process the zygote cells implant itself outside the uterine walls it can pose a dangerous threat for the woman’s life. The fetus itself is innocent but can be a threat to the woman’s health, and to avoid death you may need to abort the fetus.(Mayo Clinic)
Abortion often comes into play when women who are not anticipating having a child become pregnant. In the United States More than 50% of pregnancies that occur are considered unplanned and accidents. A general statistic shows those women who are not married, living alone, or living a single lifestyle have higher percentages for abortions compared to married couples. Unmarried and single people conjure up nearly 64% of total abortions. Married woman account for only 18% of total United States abortions. In addition to this, nearly 35% of all pregnancies do end up being aborted. In 1996 around 1.27 million abortions were happening yearly. Is illegal abortion a safe idea to consider when more than a million are being preformed a year in the U.S alone? Absolutely not. World wide the statistics are even greater. Nearly 83% of all abortions are taking place in developing countries. (Abortion Facts) This is a serious concern because so many abortions in developing countries are not preformed right and can be a danger to the woman. By making abortions legal the people would be putting woman at a high risk for faulty and dangerous removals.
Roe v Wade was an abortion court case that made it all the way to the Supreme Court. On December 13th, 1971 the case was first argued. The issue was over whether or not abortion should be deemed legal. It was also a national issue to argue to what extent abortion should be protected under the law. Roe argued that a person had rights for an abortion. She was unable to obtain enough funds to get an abortion and was not able to properly provide for the fetus. The court case discussed that an abortion should be legal until the fetus, or baby, was able to live on its own outside of the womb. It was decided upon that even a baby requiring artificial help to live would be categorized as a legal living being. Usually anywhere in the 24-28 week range the baby could be born and survive without any needing help from the mother. Finally in January 1973 the court had made a decision. The decision was that abortion is protected under the due process in the fourteenth amendment. The fourteenth amendment states that a woman is entitled to privacy. The United States has full legalization for abortions, but this does not solve the problem worldwide. (Roe v Wade: The Abortion Question)
Why is abortion even a problem? It is a problem because we as a society make it one. People as a whole tend to be very opinionated and often are not open minded. Society likes to split into cliques and judge. A Pro-Life group should have absolutely no say in what a woman across the world is doing with her body. The saying “Do not judge a book by its cover “ is a saying that should always be considered. Under the constitution you are allowed to have freedom of speech and free will to speak your mind, but speaking your mind does not mean you are always right. Everyone should be entitled to do as they please with their body. It is wrong for a person to firmly press their beliefs on another human being they have no relation with at all especially when they do not know the circumstances the particular person might be facing.
Women are the main concern with this issue. Abortion laws in countries that make it completely illegal for every circumstance are at high risk for faulty or illegal abortions. Abortions that are sought illegally are usually done by under qualified people with unsafe materials. An unsafe abortion can cause future issues for the woman if she seeks to become pregnant again, and over all is not good for the body. Self-abortions are also a dangerous concern with illegal abortions. If a woman believes she cannot find a proper abortion, or will be judged for her decisions she may try to self-abort. Self-abortions can be attempted by doing very harmful and dangerous activities such as drug overdosing, alcohol poisoning, or any activity that can inflict harm to the body.
Woman who understand they are not fit to sustain a human life in their body but are forced to seek a back alley abortion are putting themselves at risk because society tells them they are wrong for what they know. If countries are forcing people to give birth, the child may be born into an unstable family putting the baby at a higher risk for child abuse. If the environment the child is born into is unfit and the mother knows that, it is a set up for failure. It is a set up for failure because people are forcing woman to birth children when they know they are not capable of taking care of them. Although abortion is legal in many countries, it still remains an issue in some.
My solution to all of this is the simple. Legalize abortion in every country, continent and known state. Although abortion should be legalized in every place around the world I believe limitations should still be placed. Abortion should be legal until 13 weeks. This time is nearly three months which allows the mother ample time to decide if she would be fit to hold human life and nuture it the correct way. At 14-15 weeks the first movement of the fetus can be felt. By this point the fetus has already developed brainwaves and primitive limbs. At the first sign of movement and brainwaves, I believe the fetus should then be considered a human being. This solution is the best solution for the problem because it allows for an agreement on both sides. It allows all of the pro life people a voice in making abortion illegal, but only after a certain time, and it allows for pro choice people to have a say on what goes on in their life and how they handle it. This solution also allows for the unfortunate events such as rape and incest to be corrected. This also allows woman to make decisions that are best fit for them without the society judging them by their every move. If this solution were accepted by every living being in the world then woman would be able to be more open about their options and do what is best for the child and the mother without fear of being ridiculed. Roe v Wade attempted to correct this and in the case they saved abortion in the U.S. Roe v Wade did protect woman’s rights to an abortion in the U.S but it did not solve the problem for the whole world. It also made abortion legal up to childbirth. This should be outlawed and changed.
Although getting the world to communicate on the same level is near impossible for almost every cause, life and death is something every being has in common. Life and death is an issue that everyone would agree to listen to if the issue was brought up worldwide. Everyone coming together on a topic that relates to every being, man or woman, may bring the world together on other topics as well. In order to address the world the issue would need to be a growing concern again. The population would need to speak up and contact the media. The media spreads word, good or bad, it gets the issue known.
Oppositions of abortion would always argue that a fetus is alive just as much as us living outside the womb are and that killing a fetus is irresponsible and murdering a human. A fetus may be alive, but “so is an egg and a sperm and a fetus is just the potential for human life it is not human life until its born.”(Prolife Answers to Prochoice Arguments) Why do people celebrate birthdays and not days of conception? Because a birthday is the day you are born, day 1 of being alive, and your life is measured based on your birth. If it was measured on conception and we were all considered “alive” at conception we would all be around 9 months older would we not be?
Anyone opposing that a human life does not start at birth and starts at conception should note that Oxford Dictionary quotes a human being as “a man, woman, or child of the species Homo sapiens, distinguished from other animals by superior mental development, power of articulate speech, and upright stance.” A fetus at 13 weeks cannot sustain life on its own nor can it articulate any noise from its mouth or hold any upright stance. A fetus’ brainwaves are also undetectable at 13 weeks. Therefore a fetus at such a stage can not be considered a human quite yet. It is merely a growing cluster of cells.
Woman across the world would need to come together and stand up that they have a right to their body and no one from afar or close has a say in what they do. Every single country needs to be free from abortion laws up to 13 weeks. Many countries suffer from a lack in currency. But just like everything else, money shall be laid aside to provide the essentials for a correct and appropriate abortion. Funding for abortions can be costly. The average abortion costs around $350. (Tom Head, How Much Does an Abortion Cost?, Civil Liberty) Medical companies would now add abortion as a standard coverage with the basic medical plan. Since the procedure is very minimal to what others may need, like surgery running thousands of dollars, an abortion will be a very little cost difference. For those less fortunate to have medical coverage, money will be withheld from urban development. Houses and structures are going up everyday that are emptied and useless. So much time and money goes into building structures that are never filled. Along with that roads are being reconstructed and fixed when they are completely sustainable for many more years. Simple refilling of potholes and cracks can be done without the unnecessary work of tearing the entire road up and rebuilding from scratch.
Developing countries may not have the resources or qualified professionals to perform such a task. Since this is a concern there will be a new program implemented in June 2013. The program will send various medical professionals from developed countries. There will be a one-time tax in 2012 to pay for the medical professionals to travel abroad and make sure that each and every doctor will be able to provide for the said procedure. In countries that are just too small will receive a bonus for all doctors willing to live or train a new upcoming doctor full time. This tax paying for the training will be simply a one-time tax payment.
Starting May 2012 every Planned Parenthood and woman clinic providing abortions will join together and create a proposal. The proposal would then be taken to Washington and then eventually to the US Embassies. There, all the countries representatives will have a chance to look over the situation and provide feedback on how to make the transition more comfortable and welcoming in every country. If the world can come together and agree on a viable situation then the world may be able to join together to become one in other scenarios as well. My proposal is a win win situation for everyone.
Abortion is a serious matter and a serious concern that needs to be readdressed and made final. The rights some people have in other countries are down right wrong and unacceptable. Every woman is entitled to what she wants and how she wants to go about doing it. Society should never have a say in anyone else’s decisions concerning such a serious matter, especially life and death. By making abortion legal up to 13 weeks provides time for the mother to decide if she can birth a child and properly provide. At the very least it allows her to make the arrangements needed. By making abortion illegal after a time period is also good for the pro-life people because they still get to ban some aspect of aborting a child. Both sides would need to be open minded and learn that abortion is a serious concern but the mother should be provided with a choice up to a certain point that is unselfish. Women everywhere deserve the right to privacy, and that is what they shall get. The woman of today will come together and be allowed to make decisions on their own.
Works Cited
Herda, D. J. Roe v. Wade: the Abortion Question. Hillside, NJ: Enslow, 1994. Print.
Johnson, Abby, and Cindy Lambert. Unplanned: the Dramatic True Story of a Former Planned Parenthood Leader's Eye-opening Journey across the Life Line. [Carol Stream, Ill.]: SaltRiver, 2010. Print.
Alcorn, Randy C. Prolife Answers to Prochoice Arguments. Portland, Or.: Multnomah, 1992. Print.
Satris, Stephen. "Is Abortion Immortal?" Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Moral Issues. Dubuque, IA: Dushkin Pub Group, 2007. Print.
N/A. “Abortion Facts.” Abortionno.org/ The Center for Bio-Ethical Reform. The Alan Guttmacher Institute Web. 01 Dec. 2011
Staff, Mayo Clinic. "Fetal Development: The First Trimester - MayoClinic.com." Mayo Clinic. Web. 05 Dec. 2011. .
Head, Tom. "How Much Does an Abortion Cost - Average Cost of an Abortion and How Much Money Does an Abortion Cost." Civil Liberties at About.com - Your Guide to Civil Liberties News and Issues. Web. 05 Dec. 2011. .
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